This invention relates generally to rebound-type exercise equipment. More specifically, the present invention relates to an exercise chair with which one may perform sit and bounce-type exercises, upper and lower body muscle toning and strengthening, and lymphatic circulation stimulation.
Regular, daily exercise is necessary for a healthy lifestyle. Regular exercise has many beneficial effects, including stress reduction, stimulation of blood flow, the building of muscle strength, and in some cases the stimulation of the lymphatic system.
Three of the best selling drugs in the United States are used to treat stress-related illnesses. Eighty to ninety percent of all visits to health care professionals are a result of stress-related illnesses and issues, and seventy percent of all accidents are stress related. Constant stress has been linked to many serious diseases and entire centers and clinics for stress reduction and stress management are becoming common in our busy world. Reducing stress can relieve pain in muscles and joints and improve mental stability. Regular exercise is a highly desirable means for managing stress.
The lymphatic system is a system of vessels which closely parallels the blood vascular system. The lymphatic system helps maintain the proper fluid balance in the tissues and the blood by returning the blood protein and tissue fluid leaked from the blood vascular system to the blood. As a way to provide cells with nutrients, blood proteins seep out of the capillaries of the blood vascular system and into the interspacial spaces between the cells. Once the blood proteins diffuse from the capillaries of the blood vascular system into the tissue, the blood proteins are unable to be reabsorbed back into the circulatory system through the capillaries. The lymphatic system provides a method of removing the blood proteins from the spaces between the cells and transporting the blood proteins back into the circulatory system. The capillaries of the lymphatic system absorb the blood proteins from around the cells and into the lymphatic system. The blood proteins are removed through the vessels of the lymphatic system wherein the blood proteins are returned to the blood vascular system through the blood venous system.
Unlike the blood vascular system which is controlled by the heart, the lymphatic system has no separate means to pump the lymph through the lymphatic system to the blood venous system. The lymph movement depends primarily on external forces such as muscular contraction, respiratory movement and gravity. Thus, to move the lymph, especially upward through the legs, the lymphatic system relies on a series of one way valves and compression of the valved lymphatic trunks by the surrounding leg muscles. Therefore, in order to keep the lymphatic fluid moving through the lymphatic system and thus remove blood proteins from around tissue cells, the muscles in a particular body area, such as the legs, must be kept active.
Normally, the lymph fluid circulates completely through the body approximately two times every twenty-four hours. The use of rebound-type exercise equipment can speed up the flow of the lymph fluid, increasing the body's ability to eliminate toxins and provide needed nutrients to the body's cells. Studies have shown that exercises performed with rebound-type equipment increase oxygen supply to the body, stimulate blood flow and improve circulation. Examples of rebound-type exercises include jumping up and down on a diving board or on a trampoline. It is believed that rebound-typeexercises advantageously stimulate the lymphatic system because at the top of the jump the body is in an essentially weightless condition. The lymphatic valves open at the top of the bounce, thereby permitting a greater flow of lymph fluids.
Although the advantages of rebound-type exercises are well-known, prior exercise devices are usable only by the most fit of possible beneficiaries. This fact is evident when one realizes that only relatively fit individuals are able to jump up and down on a trampoline or a diving board for a sustained period of time.
The Surgeon General, in the 1996 report on Physical Activity and Health, presents guidelines for "thirty minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity on all, or most, days of the week." However, the report also points out that the most common health problems that have been associated with physical activity are musculoskeletal injuries, which can occur with excessive amounts of activity or with suddenly beginning an activity for which the body is not conditioned. Both endurance and resistance exercise is recommended at moderate levels. The universally ideal form of exercise would incorporate rebound, endurance and resistance-type exercise with easily controlled activity levels by the user.
Accordingly, there is a need for rebound-type exercise equipment which may be utilized by a far greater number of people than prior devices. Preferably a new piece of rebound-type exercise equipment would permit exercising while one is seated, and yet obtain all of the benefits associated with rebound-type exercise. Further, such an exercise device must be of simple construction, and easy to manufacture of readily available materials. Additionally, a novel exercise process is needed for stimulating lymphatic circulation. Such an exercise process must be a practical alternative to standard types of exercising for a vast majority of the population. Moreover, such a device and exercise process is needed which allows a user to incorporate rebound, endurance and resistance-type exercises, and for which the activity level is easily controlled by the user. The present invention fulfills these needs and provided other related advantages.